Welcome to Historic Fairplay!
Fair Play (later Fairplay), was given its name by prospectors in 1859 who wanted the atmosphere of their settlement to contrast with what they viewed as the greediness of the nearby mining settlement of Tarryall. According to local legend, one leader among the miners asserted that "in this camp we'll have fair play." The camp was located at a scenic spot near the junction of Beaver Creek and the South Platte River. Fairplay has been called "the first mining camp of any importance in the South Park area."In July 1861, the Tarryall newspaper reported that Fairplay had a population of one hundred. The first post office was established on 2 August 1861. During the summers, the camp was alive with miners, but in the winters the site was largely deserted as prospectors left for Denver. On March 26, 1869, Fairplay, due to the fact that its population had doubled within six months, voted to incorporate as a town to be known as "South Park City." Among those promoting the incorporation was the oldest citizen in the town, Judge Castello, who urged the local population, in both English and French, to change the settlement's name. The following August, the Rocky Mountain News, ignoring the change of name, reported that "Fairplay is greatly improved since last year. Numerous private dwelling houses have been erected."In 1871, Fairplay reported a population of 150 inhabitants. By the following year, travelers through the town noted two hotels filled with guests, booming boarding houses and restaurants, and five stores doing a lively trade. The success of Fairplay seemed assured until tragedy struck the bustling town on September 26, 1873. On that date, a fire swept through the business district, resulting in losses estimated at $100,000. One of the services the town lacked was a fire department, and there was no way to quickly obtain large amounts of water necessary to quench a fire. When the fire was finally extinguished, the inventory of losses was staggering, including the loss of nearly fifty buildings. During the year after the fire the town was rebuilt including construction of the Park County Courthouse, the Catholic Church, and the Sheldon Jackson Memorial Chapel.Although the long-anticipated rails of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad were extended across South Park in the summer of 1879, Fairplay was not on the main line of the railroad, having been surpassed in importance by Leadville. The railroad's goal of tapping the Cloud City as quickly as possible and the difficult terrain involved in reaching Fairplay resulted in its being relegated to a branch line. The branch line, completed in the fall of 1881, backtracked ten miles from Garo to reach the county seat.By the 1920s, Fairplay had become the largest town in South Park. The Fairplay Hotel was built in 1923 following a 1921 fire which destroyed the 1873 hotel building on the site. The Fairplay railroad station closed in April 1932 due to lack of business. Spurred by a revival in mining, Fairplay grew during the 1930s. The population of Fairplay in 1940 was 739, the highest population recorded by the Census Bureau for the town; 476 inhabitants were counted in the 1950 Census. As mining declined in South Park, so did Fairplay, but today remains a center of commerce and government for the region.
Old Park County Courthouse
Seven years after Fairplay became the county seat, local officials replaced a small log courthouse (now in South Park City Museum) with this impressive Italianate style structure constructed of native red sandstone. Along with the stone jail (northwest of the Courthouse), the building witnessed a parade of the famous, the notorious, and the ordinary, including Johnny Hoover who was hung by vigilantes from a second-story window in 1880. As a result of this incident, it has been referred to as the "hanging court" for well over 100 years. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it now houses county offices and a public library.
Fairplay School
Named for a beloved teacher and administrator who served for several decades, the Fairplay School is now known as Edith Teter Elementary and is among the oldest surviving schools in Colorado. The original 1880s section is constructed of native red sandstone in the Italianate style, a popular Victorian Era style characterized by prominent eaves, decorative roof brackets, and hooded windows. Additions in 1934, 1947, and 1986 reflect changes in architectural taste and local population growth over the years. Currently, the school is undergoing rehabilitation as part of an expansion plan that will provide additional classroom space for South Park students. Listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, the building is also a Park County Historic Landmark and serves as the administration building for the Park County RE-2 School District.
Sheldon Jackson Chapel
Built in 1874, this board and batten church is a well-preserved example of the Carpenter Gothic style with lancet windows, extensive wood trim, and an intricately detailed bell tower. One of many churches in the West established by Sheldon Jackson, this Fairplay landmark is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Born in New York and educated at Princeton, Jackson began his extensive missionary career in Wisconsin and Minnesota. His work soon led him to the Rocky Mountains and by 1869 Jackson had become the superintendent of all Presbyterian missions in the West. During his extensive travels, he established over 100 missions and churches and traveled close to a million miles. In 1877, he turned his attention to Alaska where he founded numerous schools and training centers. Sheldon Jackson's passion for the educational and spiritual growth of native Alaskans continued until his death in 1909.
The Manse
Constructed around 1920 to serve as the home of the Presbyterian minister of the South Park Community Church, "The Manse" is a fine example of the Rustic style architecture popular in Colorado during the 20s and 30s. The style grew out of an increasing interest in early pioneer buildings and the use of native materials. Constructed of logs, fieldstone, and cedar shingles, the home is in many ways a more refined version of the rustic miners' cabins built in Fairplay during the mid-1880s. The home has been significantly enlarged since it was first built with additions to the rear and west side of the home but still retains much of its original character.Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.
Paul-Teter House
This prominently located home was built in 1873-4 for James Marshall Paul, a lawyer and mining operator who came to Colorado from Philadelphia in 1865. By 1867, he had settled in Fairplay with wife Laura and young son Charles. He practiced law in Fairplay, but also directed much energy to mining enterprises, most notably the Printer Boy Mine in Lake County. Paul served in the Territorial Legislature, as a trustee of the Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Agricultural College (now CSU), as a board member of the Wolfe Hall Episcopal girls school in Denver, and was appointed coordinator of the Colorado exhibits for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. In 1875, he sold the house to his father for $4,000.Fifteen years later, the house was sold to local mining entrepreneur Stewart Van Deusen. Van Deusen left Michigan for Colorado in 1878 where he joined his younger brother Arthur and began working the mines around Fairplay. While manager of the Mudsill Mine, Van Deusen became embroiled in a drawn out and very public legal battle. He and partner Orville Watrous were accused of "salting" the Mudsill Mine with silver prior to selling controlling interest in the property to an English company for $110,000. In 1894, an appeals court ruled in Van Deusen's favor but that same year the family sold the home and moved to Denver.The house is perhaps best remembered as the residence of local blacksmith George M. Teter and his wife Mary who moved into the home in 1898. Active in Republican politics, George served as a Fairplay trustee, county commissioner, and school board treasurer. He later opened the South Park Motor and Livery Company, converting his blacksmith shop into a garage. Wife Mary was active in the Ladies Aid Society, hosting events in the home. Their son, George W. Teter, married Edith Almgren, namesake of Edith Teter Elementary. George M. and Mary Teter lived on Castello Street as late as 1930. During the 40s, the home fell into disrepair and a number of decorative features were removed or badly deteriorated. In 1952, Willard and Erma Scroggs purchased the home and began extensive renovations of the residence, which has since regained much of its stately character.Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.
Hall-O'Mailia House
Records indicate that this house was constructed in 1876 for the prominent Assyria Hall family. Lillian and Assyria "Cy" Hall came to Fairplay in 1868 where Assyria eventually established the highly successful Dolly Varden and Moose Mines on Mount Bross. Lillian Hall sold the house in 1899 to North Carolina native and blacksmith William S. Hudson and his wife Alma a few years after their marriage. Hudson worked in both Fairplay and Leavick, but eventually the family returned to North Carolina, keeping the house until 1917 when it was sold to Michael I. O'Mailia. O'Mailia came to Fairplay around the turn of the century and soon became active in local politics. Michael served as the county attorney, mayor of Fairplay, and headed the local Democratic Party. In 1906, O'Mailia married Mayme Remington who taught at many schools in Park County and served as County School Superintendent for some 40 years. Mayme remained in the house, even after her husband's death in 1928, but the house sat vacant for nearly a decade before it was purchased by B. Edward McNamara in 1963. McNamara became a prominent doctor in Fairplay and a new hospital was built in his name on Castello Street.Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.
Old Fairplay Hospital
This building was constructed as a private residence in the late 1800s and continued in that use until 1929, when it became the Fairplay Hospital. Doctors were not always available in Fairplay, even in later years, so teenagers would work the night shift as nurse's aides and help patients until doctors could arrive. The large, windowed back porch of the hospital served as a nursing home for the elderly as well as those recovering from surgery. The building was condemned in 1965 and hospital operations relocated to the McNamara Hospital further down Castello in the following year. Prior to its closing, the hospital saw an average of 900 outpatients each year. After sitting vacant for many years, the building was heavily renovated in 1985 and today it is a private apartment building.Please respect private property and only view this building from the street.
Fairplay Drug Store
In 1902, Dr. Samuel B. McFarland and Howard Adams constructed this two-story building, which housed McFarland’s medical practice. Before constructing the building on Front Street,McFarland served as the county physician and coroner. In 1904, he sold his medical practice to Frank Dunkle, a pharmacist and physician from Ohio. When reporting McFarland’s departure, the Flume noted, “While here the Doctor gained the reputation of an honest, public spirited man, and his departure will be regretted by hosts of friends throughout the county.”McFarland retained ownership of the building on Front Street.In 1905, Dr. McFarland returned, serving as the county physician and health officer. The following year, he purchased J.B. Markle’s Owl Drug Store and remodeled his building on Front, moving Markle’s stock to his building and apparently operating the drug store himself for a short time. In 1907, Dr. McFarland sold both his business and the building to Sara Ayers, wife of Dr. V.B. Ayers of Como.Dr. Ayers graduated from the University of Michigan medical school in 1892 and began practicing in Como in 1906. He officially took over McFarland’s practice on March 1, 1907, and began advertising that “a new and high-grade line of articles usually handled in a first-class drug store”could be found at the Fairplay Pharmacy. The store carried not only “drugs,chemicals and patent medicines” but sporting goods, perfumes, stationery,toilet articles, varnishes, oils and paints, candies, cigars and sundries, as well. Dr. Ayers served as county coroner and was very involved in the Fairplay community, serving on the Fairplay town board and holding office in the chamber of commerce, the Masons, and the Odd Fellows. Nevertheless, in late 1912 Ayers moved his practice to Chafee County, selling the drug store and physician’s office building to Dr. Frank Dunkle. After completing post-graduate medical studies in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dunkle had returned to Park County in April 1912 and settled in Alma.After purchasing the drug store, Dunkle became a registered pharmacist and later served as mayor of Fairplay. In 1913, he married Antoinette Guiraud, granddaughter of highly influential Park County ranchers Marie and Adolph Guiraud. Antoinette’s brother, Fred Guiraud, worked as an assistant at the drug store.In June 1914, Dunkle turned the drug store business over to Dr. L.W. Gwinn. Before relocating to Fairplay, Gwinn served as house physician and surgeon at the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Hospital in Salida for two years. Gwinn also operated the drug store in Alma beginning in 1915. In 1921, Gwinn purchase the building from Dunkle.Four years after purchasing the building, Gwinn sold the Fairplay Drug Store to Dr. C.A. Laffoon. Laffoon’s tenure in Fairplay was brief and in July 1926, he sold the business to 34-year-old George Shema, who owned and operated the Fairplay Drug Store until his death in 1955. Local resident Marie Chisolm remembered stopping at the Fairplay Drug Store after school to get a Coke for a nickel at the store’s soda fountain. She described Shema as a “jolly man” who drove a convertible and was popular with the kids. She later lived with her husband above the drugstore in one of the two upstairs apartments.
Cohen's Store
Records suggest that this building may be the only building in Fairplay originally constructed of adobe and that the facade of this building has been replaced with fired brick on at least two occasions. A native of Warsaw, Poland, Samuel Cohen walked to Fairplay from Pueblo, Colorado, in 1873 and soon opened general stores in Fairplay and Leavick. Cohen was a prominent member of the community, serving on the town council and school board as well as mayor of Fairplay and state representative. For several years, this building was Whiteman and Cohen's and later Cohen's Store (until 1911), both selling groceries and general merchandise. In 1879, the frame structure on the right was added to provide residential space and, in later years, additional commercial space that once housed Mrs. Briggs Gift Shop.
Prunes Memorial
One of two monuments in Fairplay commemorating the venerable burros that served miners in the Mosquito Range, this particular monument is dedicated to a burro named Prunes. Legend has it that Prunes worked most of the mines in the Mosquito Range and was so loyal to the miners that they could send him down the mountain for supplies by simply attaching a shopping list to his harness. Prunes was beloved by the people of Fairplay and after falling ill during a blizzard was nursed back to relative health by the townspeople. When Prunes died in 1930, this monument was erected to honor the burro and is still maintained by citizens of Fairplay. The importance of the burro is celebrated each year during the annual Burro Days burro race, which has been occurring since 1948.
Hand Hotel
Now the Hand Hotel Bed and Breakfast, this hostelry building built in 1931 by Jake and Jessie Hand has experienced many owners and renovations. The Hands also operated the Fairplay Hotel for a period of time and Jessie, better known as Grandma Hand, became well known throughout South Park for her arrowhead collection. Jessie Hand furnished the hotel with western and Indian artifacts, including her extensive arrowhead collection that is now on display at South Park City Museum. By the 1980s, the hotel had fallen into disrepair and sat boarded up and vacant until it was heavily remodeled in 1987 and took on a more rustic appearance. Today, its interior decor is modeled after western hotels of the 1890-1920 period.
Senate Saloon & Odd Fellows Hall
These two brick buildings were among the first to be built after the disastrous fire of 1873 leveled much of the business district. The building on the left was A.E. Jones' Store and later housed the Senate Saloon for much of the early 1900s, before becoming the Park County Republican and Fairplay Flume newspaper office for many years. The building on the right served several purposes. Among the ground floor tenants were Hathaway's Bank and later the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America. The longest occupant of this building has been the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which has met upstairs for 125 years.
South Park City Museum
South Park City was assembled in the late 1950s when residents of South Park became concerned as historic buildings throughout the county were subjected to acts of vandalism and fire. This part of Front Street was purchased by the South Park Historical Foundation to protect seven buildings on their original sites. Numerous other structures from the late 1800s and early 1900s were then brought to the site in an effort to recreate the look and feel of an 1880s mining settlement. The Visitors Center is new construction modeled after the former Fairplay Hotel. Over the years, 28 buildings from various locations throughout the county have been moved to South Park City and over 40,000 artifacts donated to the museum to help tell the story of South Park. In 2014, the museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.A tour of South Park City Museum is available via the Park County Heritage Tours app.
Fairplay Hotel
This site has served the hotels of Fairplay since 1873, beginning with the Valiton Hotel and later the Bergh House and Hotel Windsor. The Hotel Windsor was closed after a 1921 fire and the Fairplay Hotel, designed by prominent Denver architect William N. Bowman, was constructed in its place the following year. A 1923 advertisement for the new hotel boasted dining facilities, hot and cold running water, private bathrooms in some rooms, and steam heat. In addition to providing rooms for visitors to Fairplay, the hotel rented space to local businesses, including a dentist. In 1934, the sun porch on the northwest side of the hotel was converted to the Silverheels Lounge and its 1883 Brunswick mahogany bar was brought in from Rache's Place in Alma. Today, the hotel operates as the Fairplay-Valiton Hotel and houses the Middle Fork Restaurant and Silverheels Lounge.
South Park Lodge
Originally located at the site where Colorado East Bank and Trust now sits, the South Park Lodge started as a complex of separate guest cottages built in the early 1930s by Ralph and Charlotte Steinfeld. Steinfield’s Cottage Camp boasted 16 separate cabins; one wood, coal, and carpenter shop; a garage; and two small houses. One of these houses, built in the 1910s, served as the complex’s reception space through the 1970s. Through the years, the original 1930s cabins were connected to form a continuous motel in the shape of an “L.” The South Park Lodge held many business names through its history, including the Fairplay Motel and Gold Miner’s Inn, before the land was purchased by Colorado East Bank and Trust, who constructed a new building on site.
Thanks for Visiting!
Thank you for taking our tour of historic Fairplay, we hope you enjoyed your visit. While in town, be sure to explore Fairplay's shops, stores, and restaurants and please take advantage of the many other tours of Park County historic sites available through our app.Credits:All historical photos generously provided by the Park County Local History Archives.This tour was developed by the Park County Office of Heritage, Tourism, and Community Development with funding assistance from the South Park National Heritage Area. To learn more about Park County and the South Park National Heritage Area visit www.visitparkco.com or www.southparkheritage.org
